


antique love

by ThePopcornBucket



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Slow To Update, antique shop, possibly abandoned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26064151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePopcornBucket/pseuds/ThePopcornBucket
Summary: Alf Ganson is a middle-aged professor. Gal Adriel is the owner of an antique shop. They meet, and the rest is history...
Relationships: Galadriel | Artanis/Gandalf | Mithrandir
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	antique love

“Urghh—” Alf strained as he chucked the last of his empty cardboard boxes to the side of his new living room. He wiped his brow with a sigh—he never knew how tiring unpacking could be until he glanced across the room with the numerous knick-knacks littered around his empty, unfurnished space. “Oh, for a wife to help me unpack,” he thought drily.

“What’s a home without a wife, anyway?” He grimaced in the silence, and shrugged. “What’s a home without a _pipe_?” he corrected himself with a chuckle. It being a lovely Saturday afternoon outside, Alf Ganson decided to take a gander outside and pop into town for a smoke, with a side of fresh air. “Might as well get acquainted with the place,” he thought to himself.

Soon enough, he found himself sitting on a nice wooden bench at the park in town, blowing smoke rings into the air. He can’t help but notice how much young love there is in the air as well. Must be from the university, he figured. He thought back over his university days, when he did nothing but labour over his astrophysics textbooks, and this never ended with his postgraduate studies right after. The next thing he knew, he was trapped in the hectic life of academia as a professor; when there was work—and there usually was—his mind stayed occupied, but sometimes in the silence of the night, he felt lonely. 

A car horn and a stream of curses snapped him from his thoughts. He suddenly remembered that he was in town, and he had meant to pay a visit to the local antique store that he had spotted earlier. He grabbed his satchel and headed off. 

Standing at the steps of “Adriel’s Antiques”, he took in the weathered stone walls and dusty glass windows with a wall of displayed antiques and a peeling sign on the shelf reading “Antiques to rule them all!!!”. He gave a small chuckle. Pushing the rickety door open, a bell jangled above him, and he found himself in a rather charming mess of knick-knacks. 

“How can I help you?” a lilting voice floated through the air. He spun around to see a tall smiling woman around his age standing behind the counter. 

“Ah, I’m just browsing. You see, I’m quite a collector of quirky old things, just like the ones you have here,” he replied politely. 

“Feel free to look around! I’m sorry about the mess. You see, I’ve just inherited this shop from my late aunt, and I haven’t gotten the chance to spruce it up a bit. I’ve been so busy settling in.”

‘Oh, you’re new in town then?” asked Alf. “I just moved here myself! I’m Ganson, Alf Ganson. I’m an astrophysics professor at the university.” He extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Gal. Astrophysics you say? I’m a Virgo,” she flashed him a cheeky smile.

He paused and chuckled awkwardly. 

“I’m just messing around,” she said with a laugh. “I’m actually quite keen on the mysteries of the universe myself. Pop physics books only say so much though! Perhaps you could tell me more, professor?” She raised her eyebrows.

Taken aback, Alf stuttered for a moment. “I—well—uhm—yes, we could go for a coffee, sometime, have a look around the town perhaps, seeing as we’re both new here.”

“That sounds like a great idea! I close at five, why don’t you drop by one of these days?”

“Sure! I’ll see you around then.”


End file.
